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David Letting: We are ready to host over 5,000 athletes at Discovery Kenya Cross country

Over 5,000 athletes are expected to face off at the 34th edition of Discovery Kenya Cross country championships set for tomorrow, Sunday January 26th at the historical Eldoret Sports Club.

The cross country comes two weeks ahead of the national cross country championships that will be staged at the same venue on February 8th and the Sirikwa Cross country on February 22nd.

Race organizers led by David Letting said that so far 2,000 senior athletes had registered into the Athletics Kenya portal and more are still registering for the one of the long serving cross country in the country.

“So far, we have over 2,000 senior athletes who have registered in readiness for the race. However, this excludes children who are the majority in the race because our aim is to discover future champions,” said Letting.

Speaking at the venue for the race, Letting and the team were pulling the last moments ready to host athletics enthusiasts a cross country that has identified and nurtured major top athletes.

“We are expecting a big field not just among the kids and juniors but elite athletes, who will use the event to prepare for major events like the national cross country among other top athletics events,” said Letting.

Defending champions Catherine Reline and Cornelius Kemboi are expected to defend their respective women and men senior titles though it has not been easy for the athletes to successfully retain their title since the race was inaugurated in 1991.

Fresh from winning Abu Dhabi marathon on her debut at 2:20:34 ahead of Eritrea’s Dolshi Tesfu Teklegergish who timed 2:23:47 while Aurelia Jerotich Kiptui came in third after running in 2:26:28, Reline, who trains in Kapsait Athletics Training Camp under Erick Kimaiyo is excited to compete as she sharpens her skills.

She also has the World Athletics Road Running Championships bronze medal after finishing behind Peres Jepchichir and Margaret Chelimo managed to win gold and silver respectively in Riga, Latvia way back in 2023 with an all Kenyans podium sweep.

The race was established by Gabriele Rosa, through Rosa Associati, which has produced top athletes like multiple World Cross Country champion Geoffrey Kamworor, Vivian Cheruiyot, Bedan Karoki, Eunice Sum, Prisca Jepleting among others.

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